Two Wrongs Make It Right/Two
two “Look into my eyes '' ''It's where my demons hide It's where my demons hide” --Demons, Imagine Dragons --lavender When we get to my den, I decide that maybe it won't be so bad that I'm showing Jet where I live. It's not like I have a family to be ashamed of or a live I want to hide. I live alone; it's not that big of a deal. Jet is cautious about entering my den, as if expecting siblings that are asleep or a sick family that I have to take care of. I recognize the moment he realizes the den is empty and has been for quite awhile. The only scent in it is mine. "No family?" He asks bluntly. "No." I reply shortly. He doesn't say much more and I don't offer him any more information on my family. Instead, I ramble on about how to find my den. "Look, in case you weren't paying attention, you just follow the brook out of the stronghold until you reach a split tree where you take a left and head towards the tallest tree in this area. There you take a right and in the first clearing, you'll find my den. It's that simple, okay?" "Okay." "Do you want to stay the night?" I continue, "It's getting late and perhaps we can visit your den in the morning. We can go early so we can also make your shift." "No thank you," Jet shakes his head, "I have to go back to my siblings." He backs out of his den and I follow. Might as well spend the night doing my job as a partner and knowing where he lived. Jet turns his paws back towards the brook but before he can move, I see light flicker behind us. I turn swiftly to see the roaring flames of fire. Jet begins to run towards it and I have no choice but to follow him. As we draw closer, I can only see the fire licking at my old den, my parents screaming for me to run. As my paws pound on the forest floor, I feel the similar feeling of panic and guilt as I ran away from my family, who had already been swallowed by the fire. I shake my head to clear it. There are warriors from IceClan running around us, calling for help. "You're warriors right?" One shouts as us, "Come on!" Jet sprints after him and this time I make the split decision to follow. We reach one of the Deposits near my den where I can see intruders standing around the wreckage. I feel sick to the stomach. Not only was that hard earned prey but there must have been workers in the Deposits taking a night shift. Those were IceClan warriors, not to mention the number of rogue workers. Jet glares at the intruders, his hatred and anger rolling off of him in waves. "For IceClan!" One of the warriors scream as they plunge towards the intruders. The fight breaks out immediately and I close my eyes and pray briefly before I let myself go. I stay beside Jet, even though it's proven that the black tom doesn't actually need my help. Still, we fight off pairs together, helping even out the fight. IceClan warriors are trained to be anti-intruders and we easily beat off the intruders, who scurry away from the fight after a few blows so they can come back another day. A she-cat snarls and lunges for me but I duck and let Jet raise his claws so they pierce through her stomach. I watch the she-cat drop to the ground, one paw pressed against the gaping wound. I don't blink an eye as Jet rakes his claws across her throat. The fight blurs past me as I whirl and slash, being Jet's shield. Jet is more ferocious than I am, attacking intruders left to right, letting his claws do all the dirty work. It's not long before the rogues are either dead on the ground of gone. I watch the last of them flee and I feel Jet nudge me. I can tell he wants to leave but I have different ideas. "Let's go put out the fire!" I yell at Jet, who looks on the verge of turning tail on the scene. "No!" He shouts back, "It's too dangerous!" I glance at the warriors who are trying to put it out. "We can't let them do it by themselves! We're bound by the law to help them, Jet!" "That fire will swallow them whole," Jet says seriously and I know he's right. I desperately want to be of service, even if it meant my death. Death like my family. The burning smell of the fire...the entire den going up in flames as I ran away, my paws scraping on the sharp rocks. Jet is still talking. "The stones around the Deposit will stop the fire from spreading any further. But any cat that gets too close will perish." I'm shaking slightly and Jet begins to guide me away. He takes me to my den where he looks in my eyes. "Lavender," he murmurs, "I can't leave you alone like this. But I have a family to take care of. I'm going to my den, okay? I want you to come with me." I take a deep breath and try to refocus. The fire is gone now, behind us. "I want you to come with me," Jet repeats when I don't respond. "Okay." I whisper. --jet As we draw near my den, I start to regret my decision in bringing Lavender with me, but I couldn't just leave her at her den. She looks so traumatized, as if something associated with fire had ruined her life beforehand. Lavender seems to have recovered by now, but her eyes are still slightly glassy and unfocused. "This is your den?" She blinks several times. "Almost there," I point with my tail further down the path when I freeze. "What's wrong?" Lavender peers into the dark, trying to see what I can see. "Nothing," I mutter before I sprint down the path. Lavender lets out a cry and I momentarily feel bad for ditching her but I'm more concerned about my siblings. My father looks up when I draw near and he stands. "Where are they?" I snarl before he can say anything. He doesn't say anything, only stares at me with wide eyes. I push past my father roughly, almost sending him into Lavender, who has caught up behind me. I scan the den and see Silvia and Jacky look up at me with wide eyes. I grit my teeth and back out. Holly is missing. I knock down my father with one blow and it's Lavender who stops me from jumping him. "Jet," she says urgently, all traces of her trauma gone, "what's going on?" "Get off me," I hiss, "You don't understand." "No," Lavender says calmly, "I don't." "I don't know where Holly is," my father interrupts, before I can yell at Lavender for butting in. "She just ran off, okay? I was waiting for you to tell you that she was missing." "Thanks for the info," I reply dryly, "you're being a wonderful father. I miss the times where you would take care of me and care where I was at all times." When my father relaxes, I lunge for him again. "You're stupid if you think I'm going to let you off so easily! Why can't you take care of your kits? You're never there for them, you never care, and you always mistreat Holly!" "It's not my fault," my father insists, "she ran off!" "I'm going to kill you," I grit my teeth, "it wouldn't be a difference to the kits anyway." "Jet," Jacky's voice pipes up behind me, "Holly went that way." I spin around, releasing my father. He scrambles several tail-lengthes away but I ignore him. "Which way?" I ask urgently, advancing on Jacky, who shrinks back even though he knows I would never hurt him. Jacky points with his stubby tail. I note the direction and herd Jacky into the den where Silvia is still curled in her nest. "Stay in here, okay? Don't leave the den." They both bob their heads up and down to show that they've heard me and I back out of the den again. I glare at my father who now towers over me. "If Jacky and Silvia aren't both here by the time I get back, I'm not going to hold back this time. I will kill you and then I'll raise the kits the way they're supposed to be raised." Even as I say this, I know I can't because of my job. Sometimes I still need my father to be there for them, even if he kind of sucks at being a father. Turning, I speed into the forest, Lavender in tow. I'm not sure what the she-cat thinks of the situation but I don't want any of her pity words. She wouldn't understand. "Jet," Lavender says softly, "slow down." "You don't need to come, you know," I don't bother slowing my pace down, "you could stay at my den and make sure that idiot of a father doesn't lose any more of my siblings. That way you can ensure that I don't murder him and then get arrested by IceClan for murder." "I'm not staying behind; you need me." "I need you?" I scoff, this time slowing enough so I can stare at Lavender in disbelief, "In case you haven't noticed, I don't need your help." "We're going the wrong way." "Are you saying Jacky is a liar?" I glower at her, furious with her suggestion. "No," the pale she-cat isn't afraid to look me in the eye. Some part inside of me admires her courage but I squish it immediately with hatred. "I'm saying Holly took a turn after she got out of sight to make sure nobody could find her easily. She changed courses several times but you missed all of them." I take in a deep breath and find Lavender is right. I can't smell Holly's scent anymore. Growling, I turn back and retrace my steps until I hit Holly's trail again. Lavender falls in step beside me, not saying anything. I watch her quietly. She's very perceptive. I didn't notice Holly's trail at all in my rush but Lavender had managed to chase me and figure out where Holly's trail split off without breaking a sweat. I don't mention any of it and neither does Lavender. The situation is too urgent for me to care about my own pride. Category:Two Wrongs Make It Right